After Tony Romo signed a new contract in the offseason Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said his quarterback would be putting in "Peyton Manning-type time on the job" around the practice facility.

Now Romo is facing Manning's Denver Broncos on Sunday and it's clear that Jones' statement was no swipe at Romo for not spending enough time preparing for games. Rather as Romo agreed it was about giving Romo more input into the offensive plan.

"Absolutely" Romo said Thursday. "You can go talk to Jerry and ask him what he meant exactly but when we communicated all the different times and stuff it was just about having played the position for an extended period of time as a quarterback in the National Football League. You just learn through experiences and you understand what things can help the football team."

Few quarterbacks have the leeway Manning has in running an offense. He's been described as basically being his own offensive coordinator.